USDA Blog

This week is World Antibiotic Awareness Week and USDA’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) remains committed to using a “One Health” approach in conducting research that will identify solutions to help prolong the usefulness of a very precious resource—antibiotics. For example, ARS research includes...

When buying souvenirs or food gifts to bring back from a trip, you probably think about what your loved ones will like best or which items will be the most memorable. But selecting the wrong type of gift could pose potential danger to U.S. agriculture, especially when bringing back food items.

Food sovereignty – the ability to create a self-sufficient food system – is at the heart of the opportunities and challenges facing the Navajo Nation. This spring, Diné College students Tyler Begay, Korrie Johnnie, and Orean Roy were recognized for their exploration of this topic during the American...

Each June, we celebrate National Dairy Month! Since 1937, this month has been set aside to mark the importance of the dairy industry and the products it produces to America’s agricultural sector and to hundreds of millions of Americans and consumers around the world.

The contiguous United States recently completed its wettest May to April period on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA/NCEI). From May 2018 to April 2019, an average of 36.20 inches of precipitation fell...

Summer is nature’s way of telling us to get outside and have some fun! With warmer temperatures and sweet breezes sweeping across the nation, many of us will try to spend more time outside than inside during the coming weeks and months. Since I started working at USDA Animal and Plant Health...

Earlier this week, I was honored to meet with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters here at USDA headquarters. These women and men, many with decades of broadcasting and farm experience, are among the familiar voices, faces and bylines we hear and see each day through radio...

It’s a new year at USDA, at least for those of us forecasting agricultural commodity markets. Every May, the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) in the Office of the Chief Economist releases USDA’s initial projections of the markets for the crops and livestock that will be produced and harvested...

Warmer weather in many parts of the country means more opportunities for outdoor activities. Whether it’s a picnic, backyard barbecue, or even an intimate wedding ceremony, no one wants to feel the painful sting of the red imported fire ant.

Safeguarding our Nation’s agriculture and natural resources against harmful plant pests is an awesome responsibility, one my agency—USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service—takes very seriously. Thanks to our employees, cooperators, and partners, the United States has one of the most robust...